Here is a close-up picture of the suspended dancers who appeared to be wearing stilts, possibly to accentuate their movements.
Our last Christmas Market in Germany...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wiesbaden Christmas Market
Here is a close-up picture of the suspended dancers who appeared to be wearing stilts, possibly to accentuate their movements.
Our last Christmas Market in Germany...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Milan
On a whim, we decided to take a 6-hour round trip train from Venice to Milan.
It was a very rainy day, but we were still able to take a few pictures. First, we stopped at Milan's main square: Piazza Duomo
Next, we sought a little rain cover in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, an impressive glass-domed shopping center.
And then we visited the Duomo Cathedral. It's exterior is quite stunning, and had it not been raining, we planned to walk on the rooftop among all of the white spires.
Duomo Cathedral interior
Our main inspiration for visiting Milan was to attend an Inter Milan soccer game. This is Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, shared by both Inter Milan and AC Milan.
Eto'o upset after a missed goal opportunity
Inter Milan vs Fiorentina - Inter won 1-0. The winning goal - Milito scored on a penalty kick during the 84th minute.
The spontaneity of this trip was half of the fun and we were glad to have seen another main city in Italy.
Ciao!
It was a very rainy day, but we were still able to take a few pictures. First, we stopped at Milan's main square: Piazza Duomo
Next, we sought a little rain cover in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, an impressive glass-domed shopping center.
And then we visited the Duomo Cathedral. It's exterior is quite stunning, and had it not been raining, we planned to walk on the rooftop among all of the white spires.
Duomo Cathedral interior
Our main inspiration for visiting Milan was to attend an Inter Milan soccer game. This is Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, shared by both Inter Milan and AC Milan.
Eto'o upset after a missed goal opportunity
Inter Milan vs Fiorentina - Inter won 1-0. The winning goal - Milito scored on a penalty kick during the 84th minute.
The spontaneity of this trip was half of the fun and we were glad to have seen another main city in Italy.
Ciao!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Venice
We finally made it back to Italy for Thanksgiving 2009; fitting, since we took our first big European trip to Rome for Thanksgiving two years ago. We checked into the Hotel Olimpia and were pleasantly surprised by our Venetian-style bedroom.
Because we arrived in the evening, we opted for a simple dinner (sandwich and crepe) and decided to save our "Thanksgiving dinner" for the following night.
We began our first full day in Venice the next morning with a cruise along the Grand Canal, basically Venice's "Main Street." According to Ricky S., Venice was built on more than a million trees piled all the way down to the clay layer of a former delta, which helps to explain why the city is slowly sinking. Apparently there are laws against changing the buildings along the Grand Canal, so many buildings are a little worse for ware.
This Turkish "Fondaco" Exchange is thought to be the oldest house in Venice. Notice the archways and rooftops, indicative of former Byzantine influence.
Instituto Veneto di Scienze
Gondolier
Rialto Bridge
Accademia Bridge
Produce "market"...watching locals shuttle by boat across the canals to do their shopping made it really clear that Venice's layout dictates a unique way of life!
After the Grand Canal cruise, we explored Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), with offices of the republic on the left, St. Mark's Basilica center, and campanile on the right.
This clock tower was built in 1496.
St. Mark's Basilica, one of the most unique church exteriors we've seen.
Gondola Parking Only
Probably our best picture from the trip- Gondolas with San Giorgio Maggiore church/island in the distance.
And of course we had gelato...pistachio for Matt and eggnog for Ashley
Fish market
Our final activity on day one was visiting the Peggy Guggenheim museum. This is Guggenheim's private collection of 20th-century art housed in her former retirement home, which happened to be located right on the Grand Canal (Matt is essentially sitting on the front porch in the picture below)...not a bad piece of real estate!
Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious. We ordered pasta with lobster and pumpkin stuffed ravioli at L'Osteria di Santa Marina, where our waiter was literally a clone of Dana Carvey in the SNL "Pepper Boy" sketch; thankfully, only in appearance.
Venice isn't all that big of a city, so we were able to go at a very relaxing pace. So relaxed, in fact, that on day two, we spent several hours at an outdoor cafe playing double solitaire over a latte and coke. It was the simple things that made this trip so great. For lunch, we decided on cicchetti at an osteria, basically an Italian version of tapas that are eaten while standing at a bar. While the cicchetti were good, they weren't all that filling for one of us...
Matt stopping for pizza a little later...
For dinner, we decided on Osteria la Bomba for more cicchetti and pasta.We had the whole table to ourselves...
After dinner we played Settlers in the hotel lobby...this was one of only a few trips we've taken over the past 2.5 years that actually felt like a vacation!
Check out the Milan blog post for pictures of the remainder of our time in Italy!
Because we arrived in the evening, we opted for a simple dinner (sandwich and crepe) and decided to save our "Thanksgiving dinner" for the following night.
We began our first full day in Venice the next morning with a cruise along the Grand Canal, basically Venice's "Main Street." According to Ricky S., Venice was built on more than a million trees piled all the way down to the clay layer of a former delta, which helps to explain why the city is slowly sinking. Apparently there are laws against changing the buildings along the Grand Canal, so many buildings are a little worse for ware.
This Turkish "Fondaco" Exchange is thought to be the oldest house in Venice. Notice the archways and rooftops, indicative of former Byzantine influence.
Instituto Veneto di Scienze
Gondolier
Rialto Bridge
Accademia Bridge
Produce "market"...watching locals shuttle by boat across the canals to do their shopping made it really clear that Venice's layout dictates a unique way of life!
After the Grand Canal cruise, we explored Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), with offices of the republic on the left, St. Mark's Basilica center, and campanile on the right.
This clock tower was built in 1496.
St. Mark's Basilica, one of the most unique church exteriors we've seen.
Gondola Parking Only
Probably our best picture from the trip- Gondolas with San Giorgio Maggiore church/island in the distance.
And of course we had gelato...pistachio for Matt and eggnog for Ashley
Fish market
Our final activity on day one was visiting the Peggy Guggenheim museum. This is Guggenheim's private collection of 20th-century art housed in her former retirement home, which happened to be located right on the Grand Canal (Matt is essentially sitting on the front porch in the picture below)...not a bad piece of real estate!
Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious. We ordered pasta with lobster and pumpkin stuffed ravioli at L'Osteria di Santa Marina, where our waiter was literally a clone of Dana Carvey in the SNL "Pepper Boy" sketch; thankfully, only in appearance.
Venice isn't all that big of a city, so we were able to go at a very relaxing pace. So relaxed, in fact, that on day two, we spent several hours at an outdoor cafe playing double solitaire over a latte and coke. It was the simple things that made this trip so great. For lunch, we decided on cicchetti at an osteria, basically an Italian version of tapas that are eaten while standing at a bar. While the cicchetti were good, they weren't all that filling for one of us...
Matt stopping for pizza a little later...
For dinner, we decided on Osteria la Bomba for more cicchetti and pasta.We had the whole table to ourselves...
After dinner we played Settlers in the hotel lobby...this was one of only a few trips we've taken over the past 2.5 years that actually felt like a vacation!
Check out the Milan blog post for pictures of the remainder of our time in Italy!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Happy Birthday, Melanie!
We've been celebrating our friend Melanie's birthday for about a week...
Settlers and dinner last weekend...
Doesn't Emma look particularly festive?
...and lunch this weekend at our favorite Indian Restaurant in Bensheim (ok, it's the only one we've tried, but we think it's great).
Happy Birthday, Mel. We hope you had a great day!
Settlers and dinner last weekend...
Doesn't Emma look particularly festive?
...and lunch this weekend at our favorite Indian Restaurant in Bensheim (ok, it's the only one we've tried, but we think it's great).
Happy Birthday, Mel. We hope you had a great day!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Fall Views
In case you were wondering, this is what our town looks like as fall winds down. You can taste Thanksgiving just looking at these.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Kristi's Baby Shower
Our friends Kristi and Dan are expecting their first baby in a few short months. Boy or girl? It's a surprise for all of us! Here are a few pictures from shower:
Kristi opening gifts...
Carrie playing games...
The hostesses, Katie and Renae...
Looking forward to meeting yet another American baby born in Deutschland!
Kristi opening gifts...
Carrie playing games...
The hostesses, Katie and Renae...
Looking forward to meeting yet another American baby born in Deutschland!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Marine
Congratulations, Brandon, on your graduation from Marine Basic Training! We're so proud and can't wait to see you in person!
Love, Matt and Ashley
Love, Matt and Ashley
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